Daily Archives: June 30, 2010

Back in April, Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder co-authored an impassioned blog entry entitled “Free Heber.” Heber Jentzsch, like Mike Rinder, is a former Church spokesman and a favorite among Scientology protesters (including me) for his method of drowning out dissent by being louder than the other guy. Heber in his heyday was the living embodiment of L. Ron Hubbard’s order to “don’t ever defend, always attack.” Yep, Marty, we love and miss Heber just as much as you do.

Anyway, Mike said that Heber was being imprisoned by David Miscavige in “The Hole.”

Mike seems to think that Heber was being hidden because of dirt he has on DM: “Imagine the nightmare for Miscavige if Heber was ever freed and able to speak his mind?” Mike also expressed concern over Heber’s age and health, saying, “He is 76 years old, has served LRH and Scientology with distinction and dedication…and in the winter of his body’s life should be living a peaceful existence, pursuing activities that give him pleasure.”

It turns out that three days after that blog entry was written, it was proven that Heber was alive and well! Today’s blog post was a lengthy missive from from Karen De La Carriere, Heber’s ex-wife, in which she mentions the effectiveness of Marty’s “Free Heber” post:

Within 36 hours of that posting, Heber comes down to Los Angeles and spends 8 hours with [his son] Alexander for the first time in 6 years. Heber has a cell phone number he gives Alexander and promises to attend a family re-union of his brothers and sisters in August with Alexander.

That’s wonderful! Just 3 days later and Heber was allowed to leave the base and see his loved ones. Surely Marty would have reported that, right?

Wrong.

Today’s blog entry, nearly 3 months after the fact, was the first mention of Heber’s well-being. Oh, Marty has talked about Heber since then – but he never mentioned that Heber had been out and about and visiting family.

In fact, on April 7th, the same day Heber went to Los Angeles, Marty posted Heber Proof of Life. Now, from the title, you’d think he’d be talking about proof that Heber was alive, right? Wrong again. All Marty did was to predict that Heber would either be forced to sign some sort of anti-Marty statement or would be dusted off and sent to some public meet-and-greets to show that he is alive. There was no mention that Heber was actually visiting his son that very day. Did Marty know?

If he did, he kept his silence. Heber is mentioned in posts and comments on May 12, May 19, and June 24, and while Marty wrote all the blog entries and approved all the comments, he never mentioned anything about Heber’s April trip to L.A.

Maybe Marty didn’t know? That seems questionable, since “Proof of Life” cites “reliable OSA sources” who said that David Miscavige “has become apoplectic over being called out on his denigration and degradation of Heber.” Surely those same reliable sources would know that DM was so apoplectic that he let Heber go to Los Angeles to see his son.

Now, the obvious Independent answer is that DM sent Heber to meet with his son as a patch-up PR job. And maybe that’s true. But if Heber was being mistreated, surely he would have said something to his son? He gave his son a cell phone number – couldn’t Heber have used that cell phone to call someone, maybe one of the dozens of media contacts he had from his days as a Church spokesman? At the very least, if Heber’s own son was as worried as Mike and Marty seem to be, wouldn’t he have called the cops?

I think the truth is a bit more simple and a lot more sad: Whatever Heber is going through in the Church – and I’m sure it isn’t good – he’s staying of his own free will.

Why don’t we see Heber in public? That should be obvious to anyone who has seen or heard Heber in the media – except, it seems, for Marty and his Independents, who seem to think Heber is the Best Scientologist Ever. I’m not one to agree with David Miscavige, but let’s give credit where credit is due: Heber was a public-relations train wreck, and if I were DM, I wouldn’t let the guy within a hundred feet of a camera or a microphone either.

But let’s not miss the bigger issue: Marty devoted 1,500 words to an outcry for Heber’s freedom, and not one single word to the fact that Heber was out and about just three days later.

Independents, ask yourself: Why would Marty hide the truth from you?

The way I see it, Marty Rathbun is perfectly willing to rewrite history and withhold facts in order to prove his point – to quote Marty’s hero – “by any means necessary.” LRH said “What’s true is what is true for you,” but in the Church of Rathbunology, it seems that what’s true for Marty is what’s true for you.